1. Field of the Invention
In most conventional trains involving connections between cars, the wires for the electrical and communication systems are disposed below the car. Generally, they are slightly below the floor area about the level of the coupler between the cars. When the wires from one car are to be connected to wires of an adjacent car, they are generally passed below the floor level of the car.
2. Prior Art
In the past, overhead ducts have on rare occasions been used to house wires in a railway car. In general, these overhead ducts have extended along the entire length of the car and were not used to drop down to be connected inside the interior of the car. When such wires of the cars had to be interconnected to adjacent cars, vertical ducts had to be used to take the wires down from the roof to a lower level where the interconnections between the cars were made.
Many modern cars demand a very large number of wires to accommodate various communication systems which may be used for television, radio, security and various other functions not found in many older cars. In some of the modern systems, as many as two hundred or more wires may have to be connected between cars. Because the wiring systems below the floor area of most conventional cars are already overcrowded, it is virtually impossible to put additional wires below the car efficiently.
Some of the recently built modern cars have auxiliary or secondary roofs which are mounted to the main roof of the car. The auxiliary roof and the main roof provide an enclosure for various types of equipment such as heating and cooling equipment. In many cases, exhaust fans, cooling fans and the like are included in the enclosed area. Because of the auxiliary roof and obstructing equipment, it is impossible to use a unitary raceway or duct which extends from one end of the car to the other to carry wires. The various equipment in the enclosed area between the auxiliary roof and the main roof makes it necessary to provide means to connect the wires at one end of the car into the auxiliary roof and then distribute them in appropriate places around the equipment inside the enclosed area between the auxiliary and main roofs. Finally the wires have to pass from the auxiliary roof to the other end of the car where, in many cases, they must be connected to the next car.